10 Tips For Healthy Black Hair

Something as valuable as tips for healthy black hair should always be available to those that need it so I’m going to give some pretty good ones here.

Believe it or not what you eat affects your hair. Yup, if you are indulging in foods that are not good for your body your hair is also suffering. So that is where I’ll start.

#1. Drink at least eight (8oz) glasses of water daily. Eat a lot of fresh fruits which also has water. (No Surprise there) You also need to exercise your body regularly. Here is why. Hair grows from your body temple and if you are deficient on vitamins and other nutrients that keep it healthy not only can your hair be dry and wearing thin but your nails and skin can get bad too.

#2. Make sure you hair is trimmed by a professional regularly. Remember the human hair grows a half inch every month but if you have split ends and it stays dry it will surely break off something serious. Only trim off about a 1/4 and no more than one-half inch every six weeks to six months. The time will vary depending on how well you treat your hair and how much chemical is riding the follicles.

#3. Make sure you find a moisturizing hair product that you can live with because it’s literally your new best friend. Black hair is of course dry by default and needs moisture to look it’s best. (This is why my website is called “Thirsty Roots”).

Also do a little research on some Shampoos and Conditioners that are on the market to see what fits your hair type. Don’t just stick with products strictly for black hair because you can really box yourself in. I’m not sure what your background is and if you have Indian, White, Chinese or whatever in your bloodline and all that matters from person to person. Find what’s right for you and keep your hair moist.

#4. Stop brushing and combing your hair a million times a day. You are manipulating the structure of your curl pattern and wearing your follicles thin with each stroke. Take the time to get a style you like and stop there that day. The less you do to it the more you can expect fabulous results as it grows out.

#5. Protect your hair with some styles that keep your ends from rubbing up against things you encounter everyday like car seats and shirt collars. You work hard to keep your hair healthy and to grow it long and the wear and tear of items constantly touching and rubbing it will break it off at the ends which is the oldest on each individual strand of hair. Cotton is the worst! Experiment with cornrows, braids, twist, bantu knots and buns to hide those fragile ends from wear and tear. Don’t forget to rock something at night to cover the head like silk or satin. It is also worth your money to invest in a set of silk pillow cases.

#6. Easy on the heat. If you need to flat iron or curl your hair make sure that it’s not excessive and DO NOT have the heat on full power. If you can no heat is the best option but I understand that some hairstyle preferences won’t allow this so just be easy. Good styles to rock that don’t require any heat are wraps, twist and wet sets.

#7. Watch what kind of tool selections you choose to style your hair. Yup, certain combs and brushes are good at taking your lovely hair out of your head every time you use them. Use styling tools that don’t pull, tug or drag the hair and you will be fine.

#8. You may have heard this a million times but MAKE SURE YOU CONDITION your hair. A great shampoo and conditioner is just the beginning. You also need a great leave-in conditioner. Even deep conditioning the hair is vital to good healthy growth and should be done at least once a month. Remember when your hair is moist you can retain more of it due to less dryness and breakage.

#9. If you are relaxed find a stylist that understands healthy hair. We all know that chemical relaxers are damaging but there is a way to have them and still grow long healthy hair. Make sure your stylist understand that relaxing frequently is a NO NO!!

However, when he or she recognizes that you need to be touched up it needs to get done pronto. Waiting for all natural new growth and relaxed hair to make friends will leave you looking crazy. Your hair will start breaking off right where the two touch and that could be 4 to 6 inches or hair that you are losing. OUCH!

Lastly DO NOT overlap a relaxer. Relaxing hair that has already been chemically altered is BAD NEWS. If this happens you will experience some major breakage. Again, find a stylist that knows and understands what it takes to grow long healthy hair.

#10. I don’t ever want to force this on any women but unfortunately many women who have suffered hair damaged due to relaxing chemicals has to go this route. What you ask?

Go Natural! I know it’s NOT for everybody and wearing your natural thirsty roots is a real change. However, if you were to do a Big Chop and cut off all the chemically altered hair you could really have a fresh start on growing long healthy hair with the tips I have given above. Again it’s NOT for everybody but I had to list it because it is a great tip…LOL.

Last tip to grow healthy black hair is to join the Thirsty Roots Community. There are 1,000’s of women there of all hair textures. They are all sharing information about what products they use on their hair and uploading pictures and video for visual results. It’s fun and very educating.

About The Author

My goal is to teach myself and others about our beautiful black hair and to have a place where we can come together to get examples, advice, and information of black hair growth and hairstyles. Whether you have permed, pressed, or natural hair it's still black hair and it's beautiful.

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6 Responses

I saw a picture of a young ladies hair cut that blew my mind. I am trying to find this picture, ( BUT it’s no where to be found) It was on this web site under Bronner Brothers August 2011. All that comes up is the hair show from Feb, can someone please help. I want my hair cut like this!!!!!